Well, that didn’t go as planned. NBA insider Chris Haynes just wanted to break some news. Instead, he broke the internet for something unlikely.
On Monday, while reporting D’Angelo Russell’s two-year, $13 million move to the Dallas Mavericks, Haynes tweeted an image of the guard in his new uniform. But sharp-eyed fans immediately spotted a glaring mistake: the jersey said “Dalieas,” not “Dallas.”
That one typo didn’t come from a clumsy Photoshop job or a rushed graphic designer. It came straight from a flawed AI tool, and NBA Twitter wasted no time pouncing on it.
D’Angelo Russell: The “Dalieas” Disaster
Let’s be honest, AI images still aren’t ready for prime time, especially when it comes to sports visuals. Fans know what their team’s jerseys look like. They know when something’s off. In this case, they didn’t even need to squint.
The post quickly went viral for all the wrong reasons. Haynes’ tweet showed Russell proudly wearing a Mavericks jersey, except it wasn’t. The letters were scrambled, making it look more like a knockoff from a back alley than a legit NBA promo. The image appeared to be generated using text-to-image software that couldn’t quite grasp how to spell “Dallas.”
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To Haynes’ credit, he noticed the issue. He quietly swapped the image with an updated version showing a correctly spelled jersey. But by then, the damage was done. Screenshots had already made their way across social media. Some fans joked Russell had signed with a team in an alternate universe. Others used the post as another example of why A.I. tools aren’t ready for real reporting.
Free agent guard D’Angelo Russell has reached an agreement with the Dallas Mavericks on a two-year, $13 million deal, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/7i5ADaEpgP
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 30, 2025
Mistakes happen. But this wasn’t just a typo. Reporters, especially those with large followings, must be careful with their posts. Tools may be helpful, but they’re not perfect. They’re far from it regarding details like text, logos, and realism.
Haynes didn’t comment publicly on the blunder, but the incident sparked conversations about the growing trend of sports insiders using machine-generated images. For now, fans just hope the next free agency update doesn’t come with jerseys that look like they were made by a robot that’s never watched a game.
